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Action Alert

Urge Your Legislator to Oppose DEA Medical Marijuana Raids -- Support SJR 20

[Courtesy of CA NORML] CAL: URGE YOUR LEGISLATOR TO OPPOSE DEA MEDICAL MARIJUANA RAIDS - SUPPORT SJR 20 See: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=10990366&type=ST&show_alert=1 California Senate Asks Feds to Cease Harassing Law Abiding Dispensaries! Urge Your Senator to Vote YES on SJR 20! NORML is pleased to announce that SJR 20, a resolution stating the Senate's opposition to the federal government's crackdown on local medical cannabis providers, has been introduced in the California State Senate and referred to the Senate Committee on Health. This resolution would reinforce the Senate's opposition to the Drug Enforcement Administration's raids on medical marijuana facilities that pay sales tax and comply with California law. If passed, the California State Senate will forward copies of this resolution to the President, Vice-President, Speaker of the House, and all California representatives and senators, urging them to respect California law. Please take a moment and write your state senator today asking him or her to support SJR 20. If your senator sits on the Senate Committee on Health, then it is even more imperative that he or she hears from you. For your convenience, a prewritten letter will be sent to your state senator when you enter your zip code below. Click on: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=10990366&type=ST&show_alert=1 -- California NORML, 2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114 -(415) 563- 5858 - www.canorml.org, http://www.canorml.org/.

Thursday: Meet Your Medical Cannabis Match

[Courtesy of Americans for Safe Access]

Join ASA's Condition-based Union

Dear ASA Supporter,

Thus far this week ASA activists nationwide have joined the movement, met their Senators, and put their pens to paper. Today, on Valentine's Day, we are urging you to meet your medical cannabis match! We are calling on patients, family members, researchers and medical professionals to match up with ASA's condition-based unions!

Visit www.AmericansforSafeAccess.org/Thursday to find out how you can sign up for ASA's condition-based unions.

Patients nationwide have joined together to form condition-based unions to further promote medical cannabis research and advocate for safe access to medical cannabis through the Medical Marijuana Union project. Plug into one of ASA’s growing network of patients, researchers, advocates, and medical professionals. Join a condition-based union today!

Over the past several months, ASA has been working to improve our services and access for the condition-based unions. Many of you have begun posting online in our condition-based forums, filled out the condition-based survey, which was released last summer, and viewed and given us great feedback on how we can further serve our unions.

In our constant effort to improve our services and strengthen the movement, ASA has designed a website specifically for seniors, which was launched in January. The Seniors' Union Website provides information about medical cannabis issues and aging. In the future, ASA intends to roll out similar websites for our other condition-based unions as well. You can check out the website at: www.MedicalMarijuanaandSeniors.org

If you are a current union member or are new to Americans for Safe Access, medical cannabis, and ASA’s condition-based unions, please help strengthen ASA’s unions by completing two easy tasks:

Ways to Meet Your Medical Cannabis Match:

1. Join a Condition-based Union today: Plug into ASA’s growing network of patients, researchers, advocates, and medical professionals.

2. Join the Movement: In the past day, hundreds of supporters have joined the movement by donating to ASA. There are thousands more of you who support ASA, but have not taken action yet. Please join the movement today. It only takes a couple minutes and will renew your commitment to the medical cannabis movement.

3. Spread the Word: Forward this message widely to friends, co-workers, and family to encourage them to join you in the national movement to protect safe access!

Sincerely,

Rebecca Saltzman
Chief of Staff
Americans for Safe Access

Wednesday: Put Pens to the Paper, Write a Letter to the Editor in Support of Research

[Courtesy of ASA]

Dear ASA Supporter,

This week, ASA called on you to "Join the Movement" and “Meet Your Senators.” Today, we are asking you to take your involvement to the next level by making your voice heard and putting your pens to the paper for medical cannabis research. Write a letter to the editor about medical cannabis to educate your community about the issues patients and doctors face every day.

 

Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper calling on your Senators to support access for FDA-approved medical marijuana research. FDA-approved research is key to safe access nationwide. Use the talking points provided as a guide, but please be sure to personalize your message. Editors do not appreciate receiving several of the same messages so be sure to make yours unique!

Please write a letter to the editor today about the importance of medical cannabis research and how your Senators can get involved. Read on for ways to take action.

Ways to Make Your Voice Heard:

1. Use ASA's LTE Action Page to write a letter to the editor about research: After clicking here you will be asked pick your state, then you can choose from newspapers in your area, and finally you will be taken to a page with talking points, but please personalize your letter. Editors do not appreciate receiving several of the same messages so be sure to make yours unique!

 

2. Join the Movement: In the past day, hundreds of supporters have joined the movement by donating to ASA. There are thousands more of you who support ASA, but have not taken action yet. Please join the movement today. It only takes a couple minutes and will renew your commitment to the medical cannabis movement.

3. Spread the Word: Forward this message widely to friends, co-workers, and family to encourage them to join you in the national movement to protect safe access!

 

Sincerely,

Kris Hermes
Media Specialist
Americans for Safe Access

Tuesday: Meet Your Senators! Drop in on their District Offices Today!

[Courtesy of ASA]

Dear ASA Supporter,

Celebrate Medical Marijuana Awareness Week by urging your U.S. Senators to support medical cannabis research! Today and tomorrow, hundreds of activists throughout the country are “dropping in” on their U.S. Senators’ district offices. Join your fellow activists as they seek out their U.S. Senators’ at their local district offices today to talk about supporting access for FDA-approved medical cannabis research. Urge your Senators to support medical marijuana research by signing-on to the letter Senators Kennedy and Kerry are circulating to enable FDA-approved research. Visit www.AmericansforSafeAccess.org/MMJWeekTuesday to take action right away!

Background:
The federal government refuses to allow private researchers and scientists to conduct medical cannabis research using their own non-governmental materials, creating an obstruction for FDA-approved medical cannabis research. At the same time, the FDA and DEA claim there is not enough research to determine the medicinal values of marijuana. This hypocrisy and gridlock must end now!

Drop in on your U.S. Senators’ local district offices on today! Visit www.Senate.gov for contact information for your local district office.

When meeting with your Senators’ offices please bring with you the following materials, which are enclosed in this packet:

 


1. The Kennedy/Kerry letter of support
2. Research/Gridlock campaign fact sheet
3. University of MA’s letter of support

What to Ask:
Please support medical cannabis research by co-signing the Kennedy/Kerry letter to Acting DEA Administrator, Michele Leonhart, urging her agency to follow the recommendation of Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner and grant a license to Prof. Lyle Craker of UMass Amherst to grow marijuana exclusively for federally-approved research. To join the letter, contact Graham Shalgian in Senator Kennedy’s office at 617 565-3170.

Follow Up:
At your meeting or drop-in, be sure to schedule a follow up meeting to discuss other pressing national medical cannabis issues. After you take action, be sure to contact [email protected] to let us know how it went!

If you have questions about scheduling meetings with your senators’ offices, contact [email protected] or call (510) 251-1856 ext. 321

Sincerely,

Caren Woodson
Director, Government Affairs
Americans for Safe Access

Celebrate Medical Marijuana Awareness Week: February 11-17

[Courtesy of Americans for Safe Access]

Join the National Movement to Protect Safe Access!

Dear ASA Supporter,

To celebrate the growing support for medical cannabis and the spread of safe access in medical cannabis states throughout the nation, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) has organized Medical Marijuana Week 2008 . This will be the sixth annual Medical Marijuana Week, held during the week of 2/15 to commemorate the passage of Proposition 215, California's medical cannabis law.

This year, we are calling on you and advocates nationwide to take action every day this week. Please read on for daily opportunities to advance safe access to medical cannabis. Celebrate Medical Marijuana Week with us by educating your community, meeting with your U.S. Senators, writing letters to the editor, and more!

Also, be sure to wear your ASA gear next week to further educate your community about Medical Marijuana Week! If you do not have an ASA t-shirt, sticker, hat, bag, or sweatshirt yet, visit our store so you can "Gear Up" for Medical Marijuana Week and beyond!

Monday: Join the Movement

In just five years, ASA has become the nation's largest organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. Join the fastest growing medical cannabis group, ASA, by becoming a member and/or asking your friends and family to join ASA.

Tuesday: Meet Your Senators

On Tuesday and Wednesday during Medical Marijuana Week hundreds of activists throughout the country are “dropping in” on their U.S. Senators’ district offices. Join your fellow activists by dropping in on both of your U.S. Senators’ local district offices on February the 12th to talk about supporting access for FDA-approved medical cannabis research. Urge them to support research by signing on to the letter Senators Kennedy and Kerry are circulating to enable FDA-approved research.

Wednesday: Put Pens to Paper for Research!

Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper calling on your Senators to support access for FDA-approved medical marijuana research. FDA-approved research is key to safe access nationwide. You never know who you might be influencing - other community members, a staffer in one of your Senator's district offices, or perhaps even one of your Senators! Visit ASA's LTE action site on Wednesday for an easy way to submit your LTE online, using talking points provided by our communications specialists.

Thursday: Meet Your Match

Patients nationwide have joined together to form condition-based unions to further promote medical cannabis research and advocate for safe access to medical cannabis through the Medical Marijuana Unions project. Plug into one of ASA’s fastest growing network of patients, researchers, advocates, and medical professionals. Join a condition-based union today!

Friday: Meet the Movement and Get Organized

ASA is excited to release our first ever National Field Report, which paints a comprehensive picture of the local, state, and national campaigns ASA’s chapters and affiliates work on and also highlights the 2007 accomplishments in the field. Download the report on Thursday and start or join an ASA chapter!

Saturday and Sunday: Walk Your Talk

On Saturday and Sunday, mobilize your community for medical marijuana research. Download and print out a petition calling on your U.S. Senators to support access to materials for FDA-approved medical cannabis research. Visit ASA’s fun interactive map to download a petition addressed to your state’s U.S. Senators. Gather signatures on this petition at your work, school, home, church, and in your community. Please send completed petitions back to ASA via fax: (510) 251-2036; or mail: 1322 Webster Street, Suite 402, Oakland, CA 94612

Please forward this email widely to friends, co-workers, and family to encourage them to join you in the national movement to protect safe access!

Sincerely,

Sonnet Seeborg Gabbard
Field Coordinator
Americans for Safe Access
Americans for Safe Access is the nation's largest organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.

DrugSense FOCUS Alert: Use Medical Marijuana - Lose Your Job

In the latest blow to medical marijuana rights, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that employers can fire workers who test positive for the drug, even when it is used under a physician's advice. "Nothing in the text or history of the Compassionate Use Act suggests the voters intended the measure to address the respective rights and duties of employers and employees," wrote Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar in the 15-page opinion. "Under California law, an employer may require pre-employment drug tests and take illegal drug use into consideration in making employment decisions...The Compassionate Use Act does not eliminate marijuana's potential for abuse or the employer's legitimate interest in whether an employee uses the drug." The decision is on line here: http://drugsense.org/url/NDVd3p20lJ "The majority's holding disrespects the will of California's voters, "wrote Justice Joyce L. Kennard, whose dissent was joined by Justice Carlos R. Moreno, calling the decision "conspicuously lacking in compassion." The voters "surely never intended that persons who availed themselves" of the medical marijuana act "would thereby disqualify themselves from employment," Kennard wrote. Thus five of the seven justices - who will never face a drug test - showed their contempt for the people of California. Daily newspapers throughout California, as well as major national newspapers, covered the story. Please write letters to the editor to your local newspapers giving your views about the decision. A sample of the coverage may be found at this link: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/RagingWire ********************************************************************** Style guides for writing effective letters to the editor are available at MAP's Media Activism Center: http://www.mapinc.org/resource/#guides ********************************************************************** Please Send Us a Copy of Your Letter Please send copies of your letters to the sent letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or email a copy to [email protected] if you are not subscribed.

DrugSense FOCUS Alert: John Walters Caught Lying - Again

[Courtesy of DrugSense] One of the U.S. government's most persistently dishonest appointed officials - John Walters, the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) - has been caught in yet another outright lie to the North American media. His office's first major press release of 2008 made a disturbing announcement. According to Drug Czar Walters, there is a "dangerous new drug threat coming from Canada." The drug? - so called "Extreme Ecstasy." In a news release distributed in the U.S. and Canada, Walters warned that the use of ecstasy is being fueled by Canadian producers smuggling the illegal designer drug -- which is increasingly laced with crystal meth -- into the U.S. "Historic progress against ecstasy availability and use is in jeopardy of being rolled back by Canadian criminal organizations," Walters said in the release. Scott Burns, the primary spokesperson for Walters' ONDCP office, echoed the alarming cry with "They are remarketing and packaging it and trying to glamorize it." Certainly gives the guise of being important information for Americans - especially parents of teenagers, right? Unfortunately, it seems that John Walters and the ONDCP created "extreme ecstasy" out of their own imaginations. The U.S. Drug Czar has been caught lying - again. And this time, the direct rebuttal of his lies comes from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Less than two weeks after the January 4th ONDCP press release, the head of the RCMP's national drug branch sternly rebuked the ONDCP claims. Supt. Paul Nadeau said he doesn't know why Walters would make such fictional statements without checking facts with Canadian officials. He added that he himself has never heard of "extreme Ecstasy.... it would appear that it's a term that somebody came up with in a boardroom in Washington, D.C." Please write a letter to newspapers that carry coverage of the false claims. Let your local and state or provincial media know that the United States Drug Czar is a very unreliable and frankly dishonest source of accurate information.

Drug Policy Forum of Kansas: Action Alert - January 13, 2008

1) Kansas Legislative Session Starts Tomorrow 2) Medical Marijuana Organization Gains Creditability 3) Wichita Doctor - Criminal or Drug War Victim? 4) DPFKS has new address The Kansas Legislative Session starts up again for the second half of the 2007/2008 session tomorrow. Check our website after January 20th for updates and analysis of drug policy reform-related bills. The Kansas Compassionate Care Coalition, a Kansas-based advocacy organization seeking legislation protecting medical marijuana patients from arrest, is mentioned today in a front page article in the Topeka Capitol-Journal on legislative priorities (see http://www.cjonline.com/stories/011308/sta_236261740.shtml). The 800-member strong organization is founded around a Statement of Principle regarding medical marijuana. Former Kansas Attorney General Robert T. Stephan held a press conference in August announcing his support for the organization. For more information on the organization and to sign their Statement of Principle, see their website, www.ksccc.org. Wichita pain-management doctor, Stephen Schneider and his nurse-wife Linda were arrested last month and charged in 34-count indictment of, among other things, causing the death of their patients by over prescribing opiate pain medication. A New Mexico-based organization, the Pain Relief Network, have come to the doctors defense by filing a lawsuit alleging that the Controlled Substances Act is being illegally enforced by the federal government. The doctor and his wife are being held without bail, have been denied visits by their teenage children, and have had all their assets seized by the government. The government is now trying to remove their court appointed attorneys from the case. The Board of Healing Arts will rule on Tuesday whether to close his Wichita clinic. Sounds like their guilty before even going to trial! Read all the latest news about Dr. Schneider’s case at the Pain Relief Network’s website and decide for yourself if he is criminal or a victim of the government’s war on drugs. http://www.painreliefnetwork.org/prn/category/news/ Our mailing address has changed! It is now: DPFKS, P.O. Box 357, Lawrence, Kansas 66044. Please help us promote innovative drug policies by sending your tax-deductible donation today. Become a member: Add yourself to our mailing list by going to our web site www.dpfks.org.

Emergency Industrial Hemp Action Alert

We can't let a hemp bill supported by 71% of Californians go down without a vote! Demand a Senate vote for AB 684! September 10, 2007 ­ AB 684, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, passed the California Assembly, every relevant Senate committee and, as of the end of August, looked like it was heading straight for the governor. Now, political wrangling is keeping the bill from getting its Senate floor vote. Vote Hemp needs you to contact President pro Tempore Sen. Perata and Democratic Caucus Chair Sen. Migden immediately to ask them to let our industrial hemp bill be voted on before the Senate adjourns tomorrow. We can't let an industrial hemp bill supported by 71% of Californians go down without a vote! Please call their offices today: President pro Tempore Sen. Perata: (916) 651-4009 Democratic Caucus Chair Sen. Migden: (916) 651-4003 Or send them faxes or e-mails: http://capwiz.com/votehemp/issues/alert/?alertid=9480636&type=CU About Vote Hemp Vote Hemp is a non-profit organization dedicated to the acceptance of and a free market for industrial hemp and to changes in current law to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow industrial hemp. Industrial hemp is non-psychoactive, low-THC varieties of the Cannabis sativa plant. Web Site: http://www.votehemp.com Support Vote Hemp Vote Hemp depends on your donations to support our work. Please consider making a donation today. Donate Now: http://www.votehemp.com/contribute_email.asp Vote Hemp, Inc. Alexis Baden-Mayer Director of Government Relations email: [email protected] phone: 202-744-0853

DPA: A Tipping Point in Congress - Take Action

If you told me a year ago we were near a tipping point in Congress on rolling back one of the worst excesses of the war on drugs, I probably would have thought you were crazy. But the movement to eliminate the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity has grown so strong that Senators are tripping over themselves to support reform. Three different bi-partisan reform bills have already been introduced in the Senate - all by unlikely allies - and the Judiciary Committee is set to have hearings on the issue in September. Please take a minute today to fax your Senators and help build momentum against these draconian mandatory minimums.

 

Take action now.

 

Crack cocaine and powder cocaine are different forms of the same drug, and have similar effects on the brain and nervous system. Federal law, however, sets a 100 to 1 sentencing disparity between the two forms.

 

This disparity, enacted in the 1980s at the height of drug war hysteria, was based largely on the myth that crack cocaine was more dangerous than powder cocaine and that it was instantly addictive and caused violent behavior. Since then, copious amounts of scientific evidence and an analysis by the U.S. Sentencing Commission have shown that these assertions were not supported by sound data and were exaggerated or outright false.

 

Regardless of why the disparity was enacted, its impact is clear: tremendous racial disparities in the criminal justice system, wasted tax dollars, and a less safe America.

 

The solution is clear: Completely eliminate the disparity. Raise the amounts of crack cocaine it takes to trigger long sentences to equal those of powder cocaine, and reprioritize federal drug war agencies towards violent drug cartels.

DPA is launching a major grassroots campaign to boost support for reform, including holding town hall forums in key Congressional districts. We've already held one forum in Alabama in conjunction with the ACLU; and we're planning forums in California, New York, and Texas. Additionally, we've teamed up with The Sentencing Project, the ACLU, and the Open Society Policy Center to launch a public relations campaign (you can view the campaign's really cool print ads here).

 

Three U.S. Senators have already introduced reform bills - Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Senator Joe Biden (D-DE). The Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), has pledged to have hearings on the issue in September. There is growing bi-partisan support for reform.

 

The Sessions bill (S. 1383) would reduce the crack/powder sentencing disparity to 20 to 1 by lowering penalties for crack cocaine and raising penalties for power cocaine. Since Hispanics are disproportionately prosecuted for powder cocaine offenses, the practical effect of the Sessions bill would be to reduce racial disparities for blacks, while increasing them for Hispanics. The Hatch bill (S. 1685) would reduce the disparity to 20 to 1 by lowering penalties for crack cocaine and leaving powder penalties unchanged (it is, thus, significantly better than the Sessions bill). The Biden bill (S. 1711) would completely eliminate the disparity by lowering crack penalties to equal those of powder.

Of the three bills, Senator Biden's bill is the only one to completely eliminate the disparity; and it would accomplish this without subjecting more Americans to draconian mandatory minimum sentences. His bill is the one the Senate should pass. Please take a minute to fax your Senators and urge them to co-sponsor Senator Biden's reform bill (S. 1711).

 

Take action now.

 

If you live in Delaware, please take a moment to call Senator Biden's Wilmington office and thank him for introducing a bill to eliminate the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity. The office number is 302-573-6345.

 

More Information:

 

While it takes just five grams of crack cocaine (about two sugar packets worth) to receive a five-year mandatory minimum sentence, it takes 500 grams of powder cocaine to receive the same sentence. 50 grams of crack cocaine triggers a ten-year sentence, but it takes 5,000 grams of powder cocaine - 5 kilos - to receive that much jail time.

 

Even though 66% of crack users are white, blacks make up more than 80% of federal defendants sentenced for crack cocaine offenses. No other federal law is more responsible for gross racial disparities in the federal criminal justice system.

 

And although the crack mandatory minimums were enacted to punish major traffickers, the vast majority of people subjected to them are low-level offenders. A recent report by the U.S. Sentencing Commission found that almost 70% of federal crack cocaine defendants had only low-level involvement in drug activity.

 

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